The Moment I Knew
by gossipgirlfan101
Summary: Can Joey and Lauren fight their growing feelings for each other? Or will the two cousins succumb to their hearts desire? See how this forbidden love affair will rip apart the Branning family.
1. Beginnings

**A/N: ****So what can i say? I love the current Joey & Lauren storyline on Eastenders. This will be my take on the storyline, with some changes, the whole Whitney and Joey kiss didn't happen in this, and neither did the bit where the locked him to the children's play thingy. Anyway this is my first Eastenders Fanfic, so i hope i did the characters justice. Let me know what you think :) **

**I Knew You Were Trouble.**

**Chapter one: Beginnings. **

Lauren was fed up, everywhere she went, everywhere she would look; she was surrounded by couples. She always felt like the odd one out, her Mum and Dad had each other, Whitney was with Tyler, Lucy was with Joey; well on and off again with Joey, Abi was with Jay. Everyone was happy; except from her. Most of the time she felt like the third wheel, the gooseberry. She sat on her seat in the corner of the Queen Vic and scanned the room looking for a guy she could try and hit on, she tucked a strand of her long brown hair behind her ear whilst taping her boot clad foot against the leg of the table and pouted slightly, there was no single men about; apart from Ian. _**She wasn't that desperate, she shuddered. **_She sighed to herself, looks like she wasn't going to find a guy tonight.

"Hey Lauren, here's a Vodka and Coke. You drink that right?" she heard a male voice interrupt her thoughts.

She tilted her head up to see her cousin Joey Branning stood before her. "You know me Joey, I drink anything." She said smirking at him.

"Just what I thought" he replied smirking back at her as he placed her drink that he bought on the table and sat next to her.

Lauren looked at him from the corner of her eye as he took a swig of his beer, "Thanks for the drink, but what do you want?" she asked before she took a sip of her drink.

"Can't I buy my cousin a drink?" Joey asked raising his eyebrows in an innocent manner.

"Yeah, but normally I have to beg you to buy me a drink," she stated, whilst looking at him suspiciously.

"Well I came in and saw you sat here on you're larry, so I though why don't I be nice and buy Lauren a drink." Joey said nudging her slightly.

"Okay, you sure that's the reason?" Lauren asked him again, still not believing him. _**Since when was Joey nice?**_

"Ok, ok you've got me. Luce and me had an argument, so I thought I'd come in here, and I saw you, so I got you a drink. See that bit was true." Joey replied whilst taking of his jacket, as it was slightly warm in the Queen Vic. Lauren watched as he took of his black jacket, she swallowed nervously as she saw how pronounced his muscles were in the white shirt he was wearing. She took a big gulp of her drink. _**Snap out of it he's you're cousin she told herself.**_

She rolled her eyes "What've you been arguing about this time?"

Joey smirked slightly at Lauren's annoyance, and because he saw her checking him out. "You know Lucy, it was nothing really. Not even important, I swear it's like she's constantly on her period or something."

Lauren giggled slightly and swatted his arm "Joey, don't be mean."

"You know what she's like Lauren, she is you best friend after all." Joey laughed.

"Yeah well she has been through a lot. Remember that before you go and hurt her okay." Lauren warned him, being more serious now.

Joey touched her arm softly, "Who said I was going to hurt her?"

Lauren looked at his hand on her arm, and she slowly looked him in the eye "I know you're type Joey."

Joey leaned in a bit closer; the atmosphere was getting pretty tense. "What type is that then Lauren?" he asked whilst licking his lip slowly.

Lauren watched his tongue dart out of his mouth, "A player." she whispered. She broke away from his gaze and downed her drink, and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

Joey watched a slightly flustered Lauren "Okay I'll try not to hurt Lucy, but I'm not promising anything."

"Okay, that's good enough." Lauren replied smiling at him, trying to discharge the charged atmosphere between them.

"So did you have any plans for tonight?" Joey asked to change the subject.

"Nope, not really. Came in here to try and find a guy, but the only single guy in here was Ian." She sighed slumping her shoulders in a defeated manner.

"So Ian's not you're usual type then?" Joey asked smirking playfully with a glint in his eye.

Lauren picked up Joeys beer and took a swig "Obviously not" She laughed.

"Hey! That's my drink, I already bought you a drink." Joey protested trying to get his drink back off of her.

"So? I'm thirsty." She smirked and took another swig of Joey's drink.

"I'm not getting that back am I?" Joey asked trying to fake annoyance.

"Nope, you're not." Lauren smirked at him playfully.

"Great." He replied rolling his eyes at her.

"How are you and you're Dad getting on?" Lauren asked looking at him curiously.

"Ughh! Don't even go there, I can't stand the prick." Joey sighed shaking his head.

"Well, I'm here if you ever need anyone to talk to." Lauren said smiling at him gently.

"Thanks." Joey replied awkwardly, he wasn't one to share his feelings. He stood up from his seat, "I'm gonna get another drink, I was gonna ask you if you wanted another, but you just nicked mine so I think not." He said smirking at her.

"Hey! You can still get me another. Pretty please Joey." She begged jokingly while batting her eyelashes at him.

He laughed whilst shaking his head at her "I must be a sucker or something, what do you want?" he asked.

"Surprise me." She said playfully.

Joey laughed and walked up to the bar to buy the next round of drinks.

Lauren smiled to herself as she watched Joey at the bar, "What's got you smiling love?" she heard someone say from beside her, making her jump.

She looked to her right and saw her Mum sat next to her, and her Dad stood next to her Mum. "Yeah Lauren, What are you all happy about?" Max asked her curiously.

"Can't I be happy?" Lauren asked them in a duh voice.

"Well you are Lauren Branning." Max said laughing at his daughter, as if that explained everything.

"Thanks a lot Dad, so basically you're saying normally I'm a moody cow?" Lauren asked shaking her head at him in disbelief.

"Now Lauren, he didn't say that." Tanya said stroking her daughters arm softly.

"Whatever." Lauren huffed to herself, whilst shaking her arm so Tanya got the hint to get her hand off of her.

Joey walked back over to the table and said, "Here ya go Lauren." as he placed a pint of beer on the table, and sat back on his seat next to Lauren on her left.

"Beer, Hmmmm good choice." Lauren smiled at him and took a sip.

"Well that's what I thought, since you were so keen to nick mine earlier." he laughed whilst nudging her lightly.

"Hey Uncle Max, Tanya." He smiled nodding at the two extra people at the table.

"Hey Joey, right Tan I'll go and get our drinks." Max smiled before walking over to the bar, to be served by Alfie.

"Hi Joey." Tanya Smiled looking at her nephew and daughter.

"So it's just you two tonight? Where are Lucy and everyone else?" Tanya asked looking at them both. Lauren was drinking her drink and looked at Joey, as if to say he could answer.

"Well me and Luce had an argument, so I came in here and rescued Lauren from boredom." He said whilst grinning at Lauren.

"Ohhh… Mr bighead I was so not bored, and you did not rescue me." Lauren laughed protesting.

"Whatever you say sweetheart, but you know truthley you were bored, and I cheered you up." Joey joked. Tanya watched the cousins interacting and smiled, she was happy to see her daughter finally looking happy, she was glad that Lauren and Joey were getting on so well.

"So what happened between you and Lucy then?" Tanya asked Joey nosily.

"Mum, don't even go there." Lauren laughed rolling her eyes.

"Let's just say Lucy was being well, Lucy." Joey laughed taking a swig of his pint.

"Oh, okay I get it." Tanya laughed, knowing how difficult Lucy Beale could be at times.

"Here ya go babe, one white wine, and a beer for myself." Max said whilst sitting on the stool at the table.

"Thanks Max." Tanya said whilst drinking some of her wine.

"Looks like you two have been having a good time here, if you're empty glasses are anything to go by." Max said looking at the empty glasses.

"Well, Lauren's the one who's been having the good time. I bought her a drink, and myself and drink. She downed hers, and then nicked mine, so I've just got us another round in." Joey laughed whilst dobbing Lauren in to her parents.

"Lauren!" Tanya said is a warning manner.

"What Mum? Geez we're just having fun, I'm not getting wrecked just having a couple of drinks. Lay of a bit eh." Lauren said annoyed at her parents and at Joey. Lauren kicked Joey's leg from under the table, Joey looked at her with an "Owe" expression. Lauren glared at him in a 'thanks a lot' manner.

"Don't worry Tanya, I wouldn't let her get wrecked." Joey said reassuringly.

"Thanks a lot Joey, you're a great kid." Tanya thanked smiling at Joey warmly. Joey smiled back at her.

"I'm not a kid ya know" Lauren huffed from her seat.

"But you act like it sometimes, you know how you get when you have a drink Lauren." Max said sternly.

"Ugh I've had enough of this third degree." Lauren said pissed off, she stood up and downed her drink.

"Where you going Lauren?" Tanya asked her daughter as she watched her put her leather jacket on.

"Far away from you two." Lauren hissed whilst picking up her black chain handbag.

"Hey Lauren, there's no need to talk to your Mum like that." Max warned.

"Whatever, I'll see you at home in the morning." Lauren said before walking off out the door of the Queen Vic.

Lauren huffed into the cold night air, _**how annoying could her parents be for God Sakes?**_ She wrapped her leather jacket closer to her, regretting wearing a dress with no tights. She sighed and pulled out her phone checking the time; it was only 10:30pm. _**Still early she thought.**_

"Hey Lauren wait up!" She heard Joey shout from behind her. She groaned to herself and turned round to see her cousin running up to her.

"I'm sorry for dobbing you in back there, I didn't realise how they were gonna be about it. Sorry." Joey apologized whilst trying to catch his breath.

"Whatever, they overreacted anyway." Lauren said shrugging her shoulders.

"Where you going now?" Joey asked her curiously.

"Going to get shit faced in R&R? Wanna join?" She asked whilst lifting her eyebrows in a playful manner.

"Yeah I'd love…." Joey was saying before he got cut off, by his mobile phone vibrating in his jean pocket.

"Hi Luce, What's up?" Joey answered his phone whilst rolling his eyes at Lauren. Lauren giggled slightly.

"You okay?" Joey asked with a slightly worried tone to his voice.

Lauren watched him wondering what Lucy was saying, "Okay I'll be there in two minutes." Joey said before hanging up.

"Lucy said she has a surprise for me, so looks like I'll take a rain check on getting shit faced with you." Joey said smirking because he new he was going to get lucky tonight.

"Run back to her then lover boy, I'll get shit faced enough for the pair of us." Lauren said trying to seem not effected that Joey was ditching her for her best friend.

"Bye Lauren, thanks for a good night, and for stealing my beer." he said whilst hugging her briefly bye, before she had chance to reply he sprinted of towards Lucy's house. Lauren stood and watched him go, she felt sad and jealous. _**Why did she feel jealous? Joey was her COUSIN. **_She shrugged it off and walked towards R&R, it was time she drunk away her worries.


	2. Realising

**I Knew You Were Trouble.**

**Chapter two: Realising. **

Lauren awoke to hear her Mum Scream from downstairs "LAUREN, GET UP." Lauren groaned to herself and pulled her duvet up over her head trying to block out the sound of her Mum's whinny voice, and the sunlight that was beginning to shine through the crack in the curtain. Her head was pounding, and she felt slightly nauseous. _**I definitely got shit faced last night: mission accomplished, **_she thought smiling ironically to herself.

"For Gods sake Lauren get up!" Tanya shouted whilst flinging Lauren and Abi's bedroom door open, causing Lauren to jump slightly from underneath the covers. "Mum, go away!" Lauren's muffled voice grumbled from beneath the covers.

"No! Me and your Dad have had enough of this, if you want to go out and get wasted you need to deal with the hangover and consequences that it comes with." Tanya lectured her from the doorway of her daughter's bedroom.

"Whatever." Lauren grumbled stubbornly, wishing her Mum would just leave her alone already.

"No! I want you down stairs in half an hour. Get a shower, sort yourself out and get dressed. And don't think for one minute that your Dad and me have forgotten about last night in the Vic. You storming off. But we'll talk about that later. Just get up now." Tanya spouted still stood in the doorway to the bedroom.

"Ughhhh! Alright." Lauren moaned giving in to defeat, she knew she had to get up, and deal with the wrath of her Mum and Dad.

Just over half an hour later, Lauren walked slowly downstairs her head was still tender. She couldn't wait to get a glass of water and take some paracetamol, to try and relieve her banging headache. She had got changed into some dark blue jogging bottoms and a black hoody, and tided her hair up into a messy bun; she just wanted to be comfortable. She made her way into the kitchen and saw her Mum sat at the table with a mug of coffee in her hand.

"Morning." Lauren said whilst taking a glass out of the kitchen cupboard.

"More like good afternoon." Tanya replied smiling slightly at her eldest daughter trying to restore the peace between them. Lauren filed her glass up with water from the kitchen tap and took some tablets out of the paracetamol packet that was lying on the kitchen worktop and sat next to her Mum at the table.

"I'm sorry for storming off last night." Lauren apologized before quickly taking her tablets.

"Ok, thank you for apologizing Lauren. We'll forget about it ok, just remember that when you act that way, it hurts me." Tanya said taking her daughters hand and stroking it softly. Lauren swallowed a lump forming in her throat; she didn't mean to hurt her Mum.

"I'm sorry Mum." She whispered looking at her hand, which her Mum was holding.

"It's ok." Tanya replied before standing up and kissing her daughter on the top of her head.

"Eweee Mum, no need to get all affectionate with me." Lauren laughed shaking her head slightly. Tanya laughed and shook her head at her daughter.

The doorbell rung disturbing them from their conversation, "I'll get it." Tanya said as she walked out of the room to answer the door. Lauren drank the rest of her glass of water and wondered who was at the front door.

"Lauren, it's for you." Tanya shouted. Lauren got up and made her way to the door, wondering who wanted to speak to her. As she opened the kitchen door she saw Lucy and Joey stood in the hallway by the now shut front door. Tanya smiled at them and walked upstairs, to get on with the ironing.

"Hey Lauren." Lucy smiled walking towards her best friend.

"Hey Luce." Lauren replied smiling back at her, and lead them into the living room.

"Well don't you look rough." She heard Joey say from behind her.

"Well, good afternoon to you too." Lauren spun round and snapped at him.

"Whoa, no need to bite my head off." Joey laughed holding his hands up in a mock surrender position. Lauren scowled at him and slumped down onto the sofa. She looked to her left at Lucy and Joey who were yet to sit down.

"So you're back together I see." Lauren muttered looking at their interlocked hands.

_**Why did she feel so angry?**_ She though to herself.

"Yeah we are." Lucy replied happily, and then kissed Joey on the cheek. Lauren grimaced and turned away from them in disgust, what she didn't know was that Joey had saw the look she gave them, and smirked to himself.

"Well that didn't last long then did it." Lauren mumbled under her breath.

"Huh? What was that?" Lucy asked not hearing what Lauren had said.

"Nothing." Lauren said looking up at her best friend and tried to smile convincingly at her. Joey looked at his cousin curiously, after seeing the look she gave him and Lucy, and after hearing what she mumbled. _**What did it mean? **_He wondered to himself.

"So we were wondering if you wanted to meet us in the Vic later, with Whit and Tyler and then we'll move onto R&R?" Lucy asked sitting down on the sofa next to Lauren. Which just left Joey standing up.

"That's if you can handle it, I mean you look hungover. Get shit faced last night did you?" asked Joey smirking at Lauren from where he was stood.

"Of course I can handle it. And yeah I got shit faced for two." Lauren replied smirking back at him. Lucy looked back between the two, obviously not getting the reference to the cousin's previous conversation from the night before.

"Okay, that's settled then. Meet us in the Vic at 7:30pm, and we'll see how much you can handle it." Said Joey playfully.

"You're on." Lauren said determinedly.

Six hours later, Lauren was saying goodbye to her Dad. "So who are you going out with?" Max asked his daughter, wanting to know that she wasn't going to be hanging around any low lives.

"Lucy, Joey, Whit and Tyler, don't worry not any drug dealers." Lauren replied rolling her eyes at her Dad's over protectiveness.

"No need to get smart with me young lady." Max warned his daughter.

"Whatever, I'll see you in the morning. I'll probably end up crashing at Lucy's or something." Lauren said making her way to the front door.

"Ok, well be carefully." Max said hugging his daughter.

"You sure you're going to be warm enough in that?" Max asked his daughter skeptically as he saw the short black dress she was wearing.

"Goodbye Dad." Lauren said rolling her eyes as she walked out of the house. She was wearing a short black dress that was slightly runched up at the front, her hair was wavy and she had black tights and black studded high ankle boots on; she looked hot. She quickly made her way across the square and walked into the Queen Vic.

"Lauren, over here!" She heard Whitney call her from her left. She looked over and saw Whitney sat with Lucy and Tyler.

She smiled at them and shouted "I'm just gonna get a drink." She walked over to the bar and saw Joey stood there waiting to get served by Kat. She stood next to him and kept her head forward as she got some money out of her black clutch bag.

"Hi!" she said. Joey tilted his head to the right and saw Lauren stood next to him; he eyed her up. He smirked to himself; _**She looked hot, even if she was his cousin.**_

"Hey, You look nice Lauren." He replied smiling at her.

Deciding to look at him Lauren replied, "So do you." He did look nice, he had on black jeans and a tight fitted black t-shirt.

Joey smiled at her friendly, "So you want a drink?"

"Of course, I'll have a Vodka coke please." Lauren replied putting her money away.

"No beer tonight then? Should I be worried you'll nick mine again?" Joey asked playfully nudging her.

"I'm just getting started, you never know it depends if I'm thirty or not." Lauren laughed, flirting with him slightly.

"Alright." He laughed, "You go sit down, I'll get the drinks in."

Lauren smiled at him and walked over to where Whitney, Lucy and Tyler were sat. "Hey Guys." She said taking a seat on the stall at their table. She was sat opposite Whitney who was sat next to Tyler who was sat next to Lucy on the bench. "Hey Lauren, I love you're dress." Whitney smiled greeting her best friend.

"Thanks Whit." Lauren smiled at her other best friend; Whitney was wearing a bright patterned print dress and nude coloured heels. "I love you're shoes Luce." Lauren commented on Lucy's black strappy high heels. She was wearing black shorts and a crème coloured blouse tucked in to her shorts.

"Thanks." Lucy smiled.

"Here's ya drink." Joey interrupted them as he sat on the stall next to Lauren and handed her, her Vodka and Coke.

"Thanks." Lauren smiled at him and took a sip of her drink. The conversation started flowing as they were all looking forward to a good night out. Lauren looked around the table and sighed; _**She was the third wheal again.**_

"Ugh! I'm the only single one here." She moaned to her friends.

"You never know you may get lucky tonight." Whitney winked at her.

"I hope so." Lauren giggled taking another swig of her drink. Joey looked at her; he was feeling weird. _**Jealous?**_ He downed his pint wanting to make his thoughts and feelings disappear.

"Whoa slow down there mate; pace your self." Tyler laughed watching him.

"C'mon let's get this show on the road." Joey said clapping his hands together to get the tables attention. The girls and Tyler quickly drunk their drinks and made their way out of the Vic.

"I seriously hope I meet someone tonight." Lauren muttered to herself as she watched the two couples walking slightly in front of her.

"C'mon Lauren Keep up." Whitney called looking at Lauren who was walking behind them.

About an hour later Lauren had just polished off her seventh drink of the night. "Ya see dat guy over there?" She slurred to Whitney.

"He's soooo hot." She giggled and then hiccupped.

Whitney laughed at her friend and looked in the direction Lauren was looking, "Yeah he sure is." She said agreeing.

Lauren stood up, "I'm gonna make my move guys." She announced to her friends and then winked at them.

"Good Luck." Lucy said laughing at her. From where Joey was stood next to Lucy he was watching Lauren's every move intently. Lauren walked over to the dance floor to where the 'hot' guy was standing with a couple of his friends.

"Hey I'm Lauren." She laughed wobbling slightly.

The guy looked her up and down and smirked at her, "Well, Hello Lauren I'm Connor." He placed his arm around her shoulder.

"Heyyyy! Connor." She replied still giggling.

"Shall we get out of here?" Connor whispered in her ear causing Lauren to stumble into his chest.

"HEY MATE! GET OFF OF HER!" Joey shouted storming over to Lauren and Connor.

"And who the hell are you? Her Jealous Boyfriend? Cuz trust me pal she was well up for it." Connor hissed stepping closer to Joey. Joey grabbed Lauren's arm pulling her over so she was stood next to him, and then he swung his fist and punched Connor in the nose hard.

"What the hell man?" Connor cried out clutching his now bloody nose.

"JOEY!" screamed Lauren staring in shock at the scene going on in front of her.

"Don't ever touch my Cousin again. Got it?" Joey growled at him.

"Is everything ok over here?" Asked the security man who had just walked over to see what all the fuss was about.

"Yeah, Whatever." Muttered Connor before him and his friends walked away and out of the club.

"Ok, good." The security said smiling at Joey, because he knew Joey seeing as he was the bartender.

"What the hell was that? I can handle myself. I'm not you're sister, I'm not you're girlfriend; so stay the hell out of my business!" Lauren shouted at him and then after getting her point across she brushed past him harshly. Leaving Joey watching her storming off over to Lucy, Whitney and Tyler. He followed her.

"Your boyfriend is a Psycho Lucy. Did you see what he just done?" shouted Lauren still frustrated with Joey.

"That guy was coming on to you pretty strong back there Lauren." Lucy said defending her boyfriend's actions, even though she did find it odd how over protective of Lauren Joey was. Joey walked over rubbing his hand that was now slightly sore from where he punched Connor.

"Ugh! I can't even look at you." Hissed Lauren turning away so she wasn't facing Joey.

"Well you better look at me, because I'm taking you home. Get you're bag we're going." Demanded Joey.

"Ummm…. YOUR'E NOT MY DAD!" Lauren turned around and shouted at him her eyes blazing. Joey tugged her arm forcing her to go with him, Lauren picked up her bag hastily and said goodbye to her friends.

When they got outside Joey released his grip from Lauren's arm. "You okay now caveman?" she spat as they started to walk back through the market towards Laurens house. Joey ignored her as they continued on walking; Lauren took a glance at him he looked frustrated, as she could see his jaw twitching. Lauren wobbled slightly, partly due to the fact that she was drunk, but also down to her choice in footwear.

"You okay?" Joey asked grabbing her arm to steady her. Lauren looked up at him, and their eyes locked. Lauren looked down at the ground self-consciously. Joey sighed and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, causing her to look back up at him.

"The reason I kicked off back there is because I care about you Lauren." He said tenderly stroking her cheek. Lauren looked up at him, and smiled slightly. She could feel her stomach becoming queasy. _**OH GOD!**_ She thought to herself.

"I'm gonna be sick." She whimpered.

"Well thanks a lot." Joey said looking away sounding slightly hurt.

"No, you idiot. I drank too much, I'm gonna be sick." She mumbled and the quickly bent down by the side of the curb and started to retch.

"You're gonna be okay." Joey said pulling back her hair and smoothing her back reassuringly. She threw up onto the curb and Joey still was rubbing her back in support. After about ten minutes she had stopped. "Is it all up?" Joey asked her gently.

"I think so." Lauren croaked before resting her head on Joey's shoulder.

Joey smoothed back her hair, "You going to be able to walk home?" he asked her softly.

"No." she whispered shaking her head slightly and closed her eyes.

"Okay, well I'm gonna carry you back then, he said to her as he picked up her bag and then picked her up bridal style.

"Mmmmmm… thanks Joey." She mumbled as she snuggled into Joey's chest as he started to walk them towards her house.

When he got to her house he whispered to her" Lauren do you have your key?" he was still holding her in his arms.

"In my bag." She whispered sleepily.

Joey opened the clutch with one hand and took out the key; he opened the front door quietly and stepped into the house. He kicked the door gently with his foot so it would close quietly; careful not to wake anyone up.

Slowly he walked into towards the living room and luckily the door was opened. He quickly walked towards the sofa and gently laid Lauren down. He placed her bag on the floor, and then looked down at her; she was sleeping peacefully. Joey smiled to himself as he took in her beauty.

He bent down and gently took off her shoes, and placed them beside her bag on the floor. He looked to the end of the sofa and saw a red throw blanket folded up. He unfolded the blanket and gently placed it over Lauren, making sure she was all covered up so she wouldn't get cold in the morning.

He crouched down and stroked her cheek whilst whispering. "Night Lauren, sweet dreams." He kissed her cheek and then walked out of the room and shut the door slowly and quietly. He tip toed towards the front door, and cautiously opened it.

He stepped out and shut the door softly. He thought to himself, _**He was scared of his feelings for Lauren; he was screwed. He knew it. **_He sighed, and then walked off into the cold autumn night.

_**A/N: Thanks for reading. Please Review, and let me know what you think of the story so far :) The Drama is yet to come ;) **_


	3. Screwed

**A/N:****Hey :) Well I was hoping to post this chapter sooner, but i got swamped down with school work/ course work. So i've got this up as soon as I could. Anyway I hope you enjoy the chapter. Oh and thanks to the people that have reviewed, followed and faved, it means a lot :) **

**The Moment I knew**

****Chapter 3: Screwed.

"Ugggggh." Lauren groaned groggily she had her eyes closed firmly, to try and stop herself from seeing the bright light that was surrounding her. The early morning sunlight that had engulfed the room she was currently in wasn't helping her sore head at all. She gently sat up from her laid down position on the sofa, still keeping her eyes shut, she rubbed her sore head softly, regretting drinking so much the previous night.

"What the hell are you doing down here Lauren?" she heard her Dad shout from somewhere in the room. The sound of her Dad's voice in the room made her jump. She opened her eyes to see what her Dad was going on about, she looked round the room confusedly. _**How did I get here? **_She asked herself in utter confusion.

"Can't remember getting home can you?" Max asked his daughter raising his eyebrows at her in disappointment.

"Errrr… No." she answered truthly, taking the blanket that was covering her off and standing up and smoothing out her now rumpled up dress. She looked down at her feet, whoever had taken her home had taken her shoes off for her. Out of the corner of her eye she could see her shoes and bag were placed next to the sofa. She looked at them still miffed at to what had happened last night, _**Perhaps she would remember later.**_ She reasoned to herself.

"Well that just says it all really. Doesn't it Lauren." Max hissed at his daughter not wanting to wake up the rest of the family up who were upstairs sleeping peacefully.

She rolled her eyes at him, "I'm sorry Dad." Lauren apologised with a slight hint of attitude present in her voice.

"Don't give me that attitude Lauren. You know you promised me and you're Mum that you were going to clean yourself up. And stop all of these stupid antics. But once again you couldn't even keep your word could you?" he shouted now not caring about whether he woke his wife and his other two children up.

"OH YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT ME AT ALL. NONE HERE DOES DO THEY?" Lauren screamed at him, now not caring at all about her hangover.

"Of course we care about you Lauren, and that's why it hurts to see you doing this to yourself." Max explained more calmly as he started walking closer to his daughter.

"Get away from me. I'm sorry I've been such a disappointment to you and Mum. I'm sorry I can't be the perfect daughter like you're precious Abi is." Lauren shouted before picking up her handbag and shoes and quickly made her way to the front door.

As she passed the stairs she saw Abi stood at the top looking like she was about to cry, Lauren gave her a small smile and then stormed out of the house slamming the door behind her. She hurriedly put her high heels on and made her way down the steps and across the square towards Lucy's house.

She knocked on Lucy's door, and waited for an answer. Whilst she was waiting she pulled out her mobile from her handbag and checked the time it was only 7:30am. She thought it would be too early and no one would be awake. Just as she was turning away from the door she heard someone open it.

"Lauren?" Joey said in surprise, he wasn't expecting to see his cousin so early in the day; he had presumed that she would be dead to the world for a couple more hours at the least. Lauren looked at him; all he was wearing was some navy blue jogging bottoms that were hanging very low. Her eyes slowly travelled up his well-toned muscular torso, and she swallowed nervously.

Joey saw her checking him out, but he didn't say anything to her apart from. "Do you want to come in?"

"Eerr… Yeah sure." Lauren said smiling to try and regain her composure. Joey opened the door wider and Lauren brushed past him hurriedly. Joey smirked to himself. _**She wanted him.**_

Lauren went and sat down on the sofa in the Beale's living room, and chucked her handbag on the floor.

"Is Lucy about?" Lauren asked whilst looking round the room, half expecting Lucy to pop out of nowhere or something.

"No, she left early. Something about checking the account books at the chippy or something, and I think Ian just left to take Bobby to school. I'll just go get a top and I'll be back." Joey explained.

"Oh, okay sure." Lauren answered, glad that he was going to go cover up his Adonis like muscles up.

"So has something happened?" asked a now covered up Joey as he came back down the stairs.

Lauren looked at him from her position on the sofa. "What makes you think something is wrong?" she asked defensively.

Joey walked over at sat next to her, "Well, it is seven thirty and you were wrecked last night. I thought you would still be sleeping it off." He replied looking at Lauren as he replied.

"Well, yeah if you must know I had a run in with my Dad." Lauren sighed as she placed her head in her hands and groaned.

Joey looked at her concerned "What about?" he asked curiously.

"Get me some water and some tablets, and I'll explain all." Lauren groaned still clutching her head in her hands.

"Sure." Joey replied and then walked off into the kitchen to retrieve the water and tablets that Lauren had asked for. He poured her a glass of water and picked up two paracetamol tablets for her to take to relive her headache. He walked back into the living room and handed them to her. "Here ya go."

Lauren looked up and took the glass and tablets from him. "Thanks Joey" she replied smiling gratefully at him. She popped the tablets into her mouth and took a big gulp of water, and then set the glass down on the coffee table.

"So, you gonna tell me what happened then Lauren?" Joey asked her, he was curious to know what had happened between his cousin and her Dad. His Uncle Max.

Lauren started playing with her hands nervously, not looking at Joey as she explained what happened." Okay, well I woke up to find myself lead on the sofa, and then he was kicking off about how I was such a wreck, and because I couldn't remember how I got home it set him off even more and also he said how my behaviour hurts him and my Mum. So I basically told him no one cares about me and that I'm not perfect like their bloody precious Abi is." Once Lauren had finished speaking she looked up at Joey to hear what he had to say. She looked at him; he had a funny look, it was like he was hurt or something. _**He couldn't be hurt; it was nothing to do with him.**_ She thought to herself.

"I took you home Lauren." Joey confessed smiling at her tenderly. Lauren looked at him in confusion, she thought that perhaps it was Whitney or Lucy that had taken her home; not Joey.

"You Did?" she asked still confused, the person who took her home had taken her shoes off, placed them and her handbag next to the sofa and had covered her with a blanket. That couldn't have been Joey. _**Or could it?**_ She wondered.

"Yeah I did, what can you remember about last night?" Joey asked her nervously, he wanted to know if she could remember him tucking her in and kissing her cheek.

"Uhmmmmm…. I remember going to The Vic and then going to R&R and it all kicking off with that Connor guy and you punching him, I just can't remember getting home." Lauren confessed now realizing she could hardly remember anything else, it all just seemed a blur to her.

"Well I took you outside, and then you were sick on the curb and then I carried you home, because you were pretty much gone by that point." Joey explained to her, now happy she couldn't remember anything else. **He wasn't ready for her to remember. **

"You carried me home?" Lauren asked in disbelief_**, it wasn't like Joey to be caring.**_ She thought to herself. She looked at him softly and touched his hand; she felt a jolt of electricity as soon as she touched him she knew he felt it too by the way he was looking at her.

"T-t-thanks for doing that Joey." She stuttered slightly as she bent her head down blushing slightly letting her hair fall around her face. Joey shifted closer to her on the sofa and placed his masculine hand on her soft cheek and slowly lifted her head up.

"There's no need to thank me Lauren, I wasn't going to see you being sick in the street and leave you. And I wasn't going to let you go home alone." He explained stroking her cheek tenderly. Lauren didn't reply she looked into his brown hazel eyes softly as if she was in a trance; he was looking at her in the exact same way. The sexual tension started to build up around them, as they shared a moment. Lauren swallowed as the tension started to become suffocating, she wanted to kiss him. _**Needed to kiss him. **_But a voice inside her head was telling; nagging her that it was wrong. They were related; cousins. It was wrong, she knew it; but that didn't stop her from wanting to kiss him; wishing to kiss him. Lauren placed her hand on his leg; Joey looked down at her hand on his leg and stopped stoking her cheek.

He placed his hand on top of hers on his leg and squeezed it gently; "Thank you for looking after me last night." Lauren whispered huskily, she swallowed her throat was getting dry.

Joey looked at her with lust; with passion in his hazel eyes. "It was no worry Lauren,** I care about you.**" He whispered giving extra emphasis on the 'I care about you' it was his way of saying at least there was one person who cared about her. He stroked her hand with his thumb in small circular motions. Lauren felt her heart beating fast, **_He cared about her, someone cared._**She thought to herself.Lauren felt her palms sweating she knew she wanted Joey, and that's what scared her the most. It was wrong, it wasn't illegal but their family wouldn't see it that way; they would see it as disgusting and incestuous.

"I-I-I need to go." Lauren stammered as she hastily let go of Joey's hand and stood up quickly. Joey looked at her slightly hurt, but he quickly covered it up.

"Are you sure?" he asked her as he stood up from the sofa as well.

"Yeah, I need to go and see Whitney." Lauren lied as she picked up her handbag from where she had thrown it on the floor. She didn't need to see Whitney, but she did need to get out of the room she was in; she needed to get away from Joey. Before she did something she may regret, she couldn't trust herself to be around him at the moment, her feelings were going into overdrive.

"Okay." Joey said smiling at her. He didn't believe her one bit, but he was glad she was going. He felt it too; the want, the lust the passion; he felt it, and it scared him. He thought to himself. _**He had to control himself around her; otherwise he was scared he might do something really**_ _**stupid.**_

They both walked towards the door, "So…. Thank you again." Lauren said awkwardly as she opened the door and looked back at him.

"No worries, ok." He smiled patting her arm awkwardly.

"Okay, well bye then." Lauren smiled at him trying to get rid of the awkward atmosphere between them, as she started to walk to the gate. She was going to use the back entrance from the Beale's residence. Well it ought to be the main entrance; it's the one everyone uses the most.

"Yeah, see you around Lauren." Joey replied smiling at her slightly.

"Yeah see you around." She agreed turning around and smiled at him gently, he smiled back at her and waved, she waved slightly and then opened the gate, she walked through it and shut it softly.

Joey stared off into space; _**He was so screwed.**_

Lauren walked over to the Café to see if Whitney was about, as she walked she thought to herself; _**She was screwed.**_

**__A/N: Hey, thanks for reading. Let me know what you think by reviewing. Would love to get some feedback. :) **


	4. Conflicted

**__A/N:** _**Hey:) Well what can I say? Firstly I would like to say a HUGE! Thank you to all the amazing people that reviewed, faved and followed this story it means so much. I am so sorry for the nearly three week wait for this chapter. The only excuse I can say is that life has been pretty hectic at the moment, the past two weeks I have had coursework deadlines and this week has been my Exam mocks. So i have basically been swamped in school work. Hopefully now I will be able to update this story on a more regular basis. Anyway enough of the rambling here is chapter 4. :) **_

**The Moment I knew**

Chapter 4: Conflicted.

Lauren was sprawled out on the sofa, still hungover from the night before. An episode of The Big Bang Theory was playing on the TV in the background, but she wasn't really watching it. Her mind was drifting somewhere else; she was thinking about what had happened earlier with Joey at Lucy's house. Or what could have happened more like. She was scared of all the feelings and emotions she was feeling for him, she knew it was wrong to feel this way about her cousin. But whenever she was around him she was starting to feel as if she was loosing the will to fight her feelings. Part of her was telling her to give in, and get lost in the feelings; the lust, the passion she felt for him. Whereas, the more sensible part of her was telling her to fight her feelings for him; for her not to be weak. She had to think of her family, and this would tear them apart forever. She was confused, she felt conflicted. _**Should she listen to her heart? Or listen to her head?**_ She agonized to herself.

"Lauren?" she heard someone say, startling her from her deep thoughts. Lauren quickly sat up and saw her Mum stood in the doorway of the living room. Her Mum was looking at her disappointed, _**Dad's obviously told her about earlier. **_She thought to herself.

"Mum, look please. I'm sorry about earlier. I really am." Lauren stood up as she apologized to her Mum. She was truly sorry.

"Sorry is all you ever seem to lately say Lauren. It can't fix everything." Tanya said from where she was stood.

"Please Mum, I am sorry. I know I have put you and Dad through so much over the past year, but I'm really sorry. What I said to Dad this morning wasn't true. I know you do care about me, I just needed to lash out at someone, and I'm sorry. It's just that I'm a mess at the moment ok Mum. I'm sorry I am really am." Lauren sobbed sitting back down in the sofa with her head in her hands.

Tanya looked at her distressed daughter; she felt a lump in her throat forming, she had no idea what was going on in her daughter's life at the moment. "Lauren, darling. Look at me please." She whispered tenderly as she sat next to her daughter on the sofa, she wrapped her arms around Lauren and gently stroked her back.

"Darling, you can tell me anything. You know that." Tanya soothed gently.

Lauren shook her head forcefully as she wiped her tears away from her eyes. "No, I really can't. I'm so confused Mum. I don't know what to do."

"Lauren, you're scaring me. Please tell me what's the matter. Is it a boy? Is it Lucy?" Tanya asked now getting extremely worried about her daughter.

Lauren tensed at the mention of a boy, but she shook her head after her had Mum mentioned it.

"It's just everything." Lauren mumbled into her hands.

"I know how hard life get's at times, but the key is to keep strong to keep struggling on, because come the end you will be a stronger person. If you don't want to talk to me about it, promise me you will talk to Whitney or Lucy about it. Because bottling up something isn't good." Tanya whispered trying to give Lauren some advice.

"Okay." Lauren lied; she couldn't talk to Lucy about her growing feelings for Joey, seeing as Joey was Lucy's kinda boyfriend.

Tanya wrapped her arms around Lauren and gave her a quick hug before getting off of the sofa and stood back up. Lauren wiped her eyes dry one last time, "Take no notice of me Mum, I'm probably still a bit drunk from last night." Lauren laughed slightly to try and lighten the mood.

"Hmmm… we won't even go there." Tanya joked. Lauren smiled at her Mum.

"Anyway, I came here to tell you to get cleaned up. Me, you, your Dad, and Abi are meeting in The Vic for dinner tonight." Tanya said walking over to turn the TV off.

Lauren moaned slightly, she wasn't in the mood to see her Dad after their argument earlier that day. "What about Oscar?" Lauren asked hoping to suggest she would babysit him.

"Sharon has him." Tanya smiled, knowing how her daughter was trying to find a way not to go out for the family meal.

"But, But what about Dad?" Lauren asked looking at her Mum pointedly.

"What about your Dad Lauren? If it's about earlier, then he would have calmed down. I'll talk to him before you get there." Tanya reassured her reluctant daughter.

"Errrr, okay." Lauren moaned lying back on the sofa.

"C'mon get up, go get showered." Tanya ordered.

"Mummmmm!" Lauren moaned still lead back on the sofa.

"C'mon we're meeting in the Vic at seven. You have an hour." Tanya explained.

"Whoa! Is it six already?" Lauren asked astonished.

"Yeah, that's what you get for being lazy and sleeping most of the day." Tanya laughed walking out of the living room.

Just over an hour later, Lauren was making her way into The Queen Vic. She had got showered like her Mum had suggested and put clean clothes on. She was now wearing black skinny jeans with black high-heeled ankle boots, a black top with a gold beaded pattern on it and her black leather jacket. Her hair was left natural, and she just had minimal makeup on. She pushed the door open to the Vic and walked in. She saw her parents and Abi sat at a table and she started to walk over to them, as she was making her way over to her family she saw Joey stood at the Bar. She had to pass him in order to get to the table her parents and Abi were sat at. She felt butterflies in her stomach as she got nearer to him, she would have to say Hi over wise it would look weird.

"Hey Joey." She said smiling at him as she got near.

Joey turned round after hearing_** her**_ voice. He smiled at her "Hey Lauren. Feeling better than earlier?"

"Yeah I'm okay now, thanks. Anyway I better go sit down." Lauren said slightly flustered, she couldn't look him fully in the eye. Otherwise she was scared that he would be able to see through her, and be able to tell how she truly felt about him.

"Okay." Joey smiled slightly amused by her actions. Lauren smiled and then walked away.

"Hey Lauren." Abi greeted as Lauren sat down next to her at the table they were sat at.

"Hi Abs." Lauren replied smiling at her slightly younger sister.

"Hello, Lauren." Max said to his daughter.

Lauren looked up at her Dad and gave him a small smile. "I'm sorry about this morning." Lauren apologized sheepishly.

"It's okay. Don't mention it, your Mum has explained." Max said smiling softly at his eldest child.

"Here's your beer Uncle Max." Lauren heard a voice say from next to her. Her heart started beating rapidly, it was _**him.**_

Lauren looked slightly to her left Joey was now sat next to her. "Ummm… not being rude but why is Joey here?" Lauren asked confused, looking at her Mum and Dad.

"Well we saw him on his own, and asked him to join us for Dinner." Tanya explained.

"How nice." Lauren replied sarcastically. She wasn't meaning to be rude to Joey, but it was her only way of hiding her true feelings for him.

Twenty minutes later Tanya, Max and Abi were engrossed in a deep conversation about Jai or something, Lauren didn't really care. Joey and Lauren were sat in silence waiting for their food to arrive that they had ordered, it was getting slightly awkward and slightly tense between them.

"Is something the matter?" Joey asked Lauren slightly concerned at her weird behavior.

Lauren snorted, "Talk about the understatement of the year." She said whilst taking a sip on her vodka and coke.

"You can talk to me about it." Joey said to her reassuringly as he squeezed her hand gently. Lauren jumped and quickly snatched her hand out of his grasp, Joey looked at her slightly hurt."Seriously Lauren what is you're problem?"

Lauren looked him in the eyes. "You are." She hissed,

"Me?" Joey asked incredulously.

"I can't do this." Lauren announced, getting Tanya, Max and Abi's attention.

"Let me out." Lauren hissed at Joey. Joey obeyed and stood up allowing Lauren to get up out of her seat. He was really confused and rather hurt at how she was treating him.

"Where are you going Lauren?" Tanya asked her daughter worried after her sudden change in attitude.

"Just getting some fresh air, text me when the food arrives." Lauren smiled falsely at her Mum before quickly walking out of the pub.

Lauren was shivering in the cold November air; she was watching a couple walking past laughing happily. She sighed she wished she had that_**. She wished she had him.**_

"What's your problem?" She heard Joey ask from behind her in the gardens of Albert Square. Lauren looked down at the ground ignoring him. Joey stepped in front of her "What's your problem with me?" Joey asked emphasizing on the 'me' part. Lauren was still looking at the floor stubbornly; she was worried on what she was going to say to him.

"Answer me Lauren!" Joey shouted at her, causing her to look up at him.

"YOU'RE EVERYWHERE I GO. YOU'RE ALWAYS THERE. YOU'RE DRIVING ME INSANE. I SHOULDN'T FEEL LIKE THIS BUT I DO." Lauren screamed at him hitting his chest with her small fists.

Joey caught her fists in his larger hands, stopping her from hitting him. Lauren tried to steady her breathing; it felt nice to release her thoughts and feelings. She looked Joey in the eyes; his eyes had a weird glint in them. The air around them was starting to feel charged, like how it did when she saw him earlier in the day at Lucy's house. That unbearable sexual tension was present all around them. Joey gently let go of her hands and softly tangled his hand in her hair and stoked cheek gently. Lauren's heart was starting to beat erratically in her chest. She wanted to kiss him so bad. They both started to lean in, Joey captured his lips softly with hers it took Lauren a couple of seconds to respond, she kissed back him with so more force, with so much pent up passion.

After about twenty seconds Lauren realized what was happening. She pushed him off her forcefully "We can't do this, we can't do this!" She rambled to herself her hands were shaking.

"We can, it feels right Lauren. It really does." Joey whispered huskily getting closer to her.

"No it's wrong, it's wrong. Please Joey don't. If you get any closer I won't be able to stop myself. Get away from me we need to fight this. We're cousins. This is wrong. Sooooo wrong." Lauren continued to ramble.

"It may be wrong, but it feels right Lauren. It really does. I've never felt like this for somebody before." Joey tried to reason with her.

"No, no. Please go back into the Vic. Tell my Mum and Dad I've gone home. Tell them I feel sick, tell them I have a headache, tell them anything. Please tell them that Joey." Lauren rambled shook up from what had just happened. Joey looked at her reluctantly.

"If you care about me at all then please just go, I need to figure this out." Lauren pleaded. She felt so confused; so conflicted.

"Okay." Joey replied, gently kissing her cheek. Lauren shivered at the touch of his lips on her cheek. Joey smiled at her sadly and the walked off back towards the Vic.

Lauren wobbly sat down on the bench in the gardens, she was shaking and all she could hear was Joey's voice repeating over and over again in a constant loop in her head. "_**I've never felt like this for somebody before."**_ She was truly conflicted.

**A/N: Hey, thanks for reading. Let me know what you think by reviewing. Would love to get some feedback. :)**


	5. Jealous

**A/N: I know, I know, I know I such at updating regularly. But every time the past week I tired to write this chapter it just didn't feel write. I'm not 100% satisfied with this chapter, but anyway I hope you enjoy it. Big thanks to the lovely people who have reviewed this story, it means a lot to me and gives me the confidence to keep on writing. Anyhow I do promise to update this sooner than last time, there should be a new chapter uploaded on Tuesday. Anyway Enjoy the chapter and don't forget to review ;) **

**The Moment I knew**

Chapter 5: Jealous.

It was two days after Lauren and Joey's intimate moment in the Albert Square gardens. Ever since the incident; _**that kiss**_ that had happened Lauren couldn't think of anything else, but the feeling of Joey's soft lips upon hers. She kept replaying the moment in her head, wanting to relive _**that kiss; relive that moment.**_ She had been purposely trying to avoid him the past few days; she hadn't left the house since it happened, in fear that she would bump into him. She had been wasting the past three days by lying on the sofa watching rubbish daytime shows; Jeremy Kyle, This Morning, Loose Women; wishing that her life were simpler; wishing that Joey Branning wasn't her cousin. That's the one wish she wanted to come true more than anything else; she wished that Joey Branning was just some boy she knew, just some boy she had feelings for that she wasn't related too; if that was true her life would be so much simpler. But she knew that wish would never come true, she was cousins with him, they were related by blood, and she couldn't change that, even though she wanted to more than anything else in the world. She was disturbed from her thoughts to hear her mobile phone buzzing next to her on the sofa, signifying someone was calling her. She sighed as she picked it up; she just wanted to be left alone, left in peace. As she picked her phone up she saw her best friends name flashing on the screen. "Hi Lucy." she answered; she really didn't want to speak to her, because of the fact that Lucy was in an on/off again relationship with Joey; Lauren was jealous of that.

"Hey Lauren, Where have you been the past couple of days? You've like disappeared of the face of the earth, or something." Lauren heard Lucy ask her down the phone, she could tell Lucy had been worried about her from the tone of her voice.

"Just been feeling sick, think I had the flu or something. I'm okay now though Luce. How are you?" Lauren asked feeling guilty for kissing Lucy's' sort of boyfriend, and feeling guilty for the feelings she felt for him.

"I'm fine thanks, I was just worried about you, and well me and Joey were both worried about you." She explained. Lauren felt her heart start to beat rapidly and her palms start to sweat at the mention of his name; Joey's name.

"You were?" Lauren asked hoarsely. She couldn't think straight; _**Joey had been worried about her? He hadn't called. Well she wasn't expecting him to, but he was worried about her?**_ She thought to herself.

"Yeah we were, so I was wondering if you wanted to come round tonight? My Dad and Bobby are going away for the weekend to visit Peter. So I thought why don't you, Whit and Tyler, Poppy and Fats come round and we'll have a little get together." Lucy explained sounding excited by her plan. Lauren swallowed slightly_**, if she went round Lucy's it would mean she would have to see Joey, and she didn't know how she would react to seeing him again. But if she didn't go then that would look weird.**_ She debated to herself.

"Yeah count me in. You know I love a good party." Lauren answered fake cheerily.

"Awh! Yayy! Okay well come round at seven thirty, and bring some drink with you." Lucy replied happy that her best friend was able to go.

"Okay sure, See you then." Lauren replied sitting up from her lying down position on the sofa.

"Yeah bye." Lucy replied before hanging up the phone. Lauren disconnected the phone call, and chucked her phone down on the sofa, _**damn she was in such a mess.**_

It was nearing on to half past eight, she knew she was late but she was so nervous. Lauren was sat in the Queen Vic drinking a double Vodka and Coke to try and steady her nerves. She was nervous of to see Joey again, seeing as she hadn't seen him since _**that kiss. **_She downed her drink and ordered another double vodka and coke from Kat.

"Someone looks like they're trying to forget their problems." Kat commented as she poured Lauren her fourth drink of the night.

Lauren shrugged as Kat went to serve another waiting customer. The only way she was going to be able to get through the evening was if she was drunk. She downed her last drink and then made her way out of the Vic, more like stumbled out of the Vic. It was time to face the music, or in other words; time to face Joey. She was wearing black skinny jeans, a red burgundy vest top, her leather jacket and black high-heeled studded boots. Her hair hung naturally, and she had applied a bit of makeup to her naturally beautiful face before leaving the house. She was stood outside in the cold winters night, she didn't want to go to Lucy's just yet. She needed to put it off a bit more; she needed a bit more time to figure out how she was going to act. She decided before walking to Lucy's she'd nip into the Minute Mart to grab a bottle or two of Vodka. It only took her five minutes to retrieve her favorite liquor, and then she was stood back out in the dark, cold night. She decided; it was time.

Two minutes later Lauren was stood waiting for Lucy to answer the door, with that the door flung open. Revealing a smiling Lucy, Lauren was grateful that it was Lucy that answered the door and not Joey; now that would have been awkward.

"Lauren, I thought you weren't coming." Lucy screeched pulling her best friend into a bone-shattering hug, Lucy was wearing a crème coloured lace dress and black little boots. Lauren wobbled slightly; partially due to her heels but also because of the alcohol in her system.

"Looks like someone's been on the drink, you gonna let me in or what?" She joked letting go of Lucy and walking into the house.

"So do you" Lucy laughed as she shut the door.

Lauren looked back and winked at Lucy, she then composed herself and then walked into the living room, to find Whitney, Tyler, Fatboy, Poppy and him; _**Joey **_stood around the living room each with a drink in their hands.

"I thought this was supposed to be a Party! Not a funeral." Lauren giggled stumbling into the living room and waving her vodka bottles in the air. She avoided looking at Joey and wobbled over to Whitney.

"Heyyyyyyyyy Whit!" She squealed standing next to her other best friend.

"Hi Lauren, Looks like you had a few drinks before you came." Whitney laughed elbowing her slightly.

"Well you know what I'm like." Lauren laughed handing one bottle of Vodka to Whitney and the unscrewing the lid off of the bottle of Vodka she was gripping in her right hand, she took a quick swig of it and when she looked up she saw Lucy kissing Joey passionately in the corner, her eye's met with Joey's for a slight second. She felt her heart fall in her stomach, she felt sick; she felt jealous.

She downed some more Vodka as she looked away from him, "Whoa! Steady on Lauren." Tyler Laughed from the other side of Whitney.

"Yeah slow down Lauren." Fatboy laughed.

Lauren ignored them both and glugged some more of the liquor down her throat; she screwed the cap back on the bottle and wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her leather jacket.

"Phewwwww. I needed that!" she laughed to no one in particular.

Joey looked at her discretely he was worried about her, all he wanted to do was put his arm around her, comfort her, and maybe kiss her.

"Are you ok Lauren?" Whitney asked her best friend slightly worried by her behavior, _**yeah it was normal for Lauren to get trashed, but there was something different about how she was acting tonight.**_ Whitney thought to herself.

"Got any music Luce? Or you just gonna stay there sucking face with him all night?" Lauren shouted pointing her vodka bottle in Lucy and Joey's direction. Joey looked at her with an indescribable emotion present in his brown eyes, Lauren looked at him and just stared, her heart was starting to beat faster.

Lucy looked at Lauren, "Yeah put something on if you want." Lauren looked away form Joey and smiled at Lucy, she then walked towards the iPod/iPhone docking station.

She was stood scrolling thought the iPod's playlist trying to find a good song, just as she was about to press play on Wiley's Can You Hear me she felt someone stand next to her; _**him.**_

"Can we go and talk in the kitchen?" she heard Joey whisper from beside her.

"Why?" she whispered not looking at him as she pressed play on the Wiley song.

"Because you have been ignoring me the past couple of days, and we need to sort this out before someone starts to notice that's something's happened between us." Joey whispered to her quietly.

"I have nothing to say to you, nothings happened between us." Lauren hissed at him as she turned to look him in the eye. Lauren saw a slight flicker of hurt in his brown eyes, but he quickly covered it up.

"We both know something's happened between us Lauren, and we both know that it meant something. Now stop being in denial and a stubborn cow and come in the kitchen where we can talk about this properly." Joey hissed back at her, getting annoyed at her stubborn attitude.

He walked away from her, and Lauren followed his retreating form with her eyes as he walked into the kitchen, he turned round to look at her and beckoned her to go to him with his eyes.

Lauren took a steady breath she looked around the room everyone else was engrossed in conversation, Poppy, Lucy and Whitney were laughing about something and Fatboy was trying to teach Tyler to dance, Lauren smiled slightly to herself at the sight of Tyler trying to dance.

She then sighed stubbornly to herself and walked into the kitchen; following Joey. She stumbled slightly as she shut the kitchen door behind her, she then turned round to face Joey; it was time to face the music.

"Let's talk then." Lauren hissed crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Joey looked her in the eye before saying...

**A/N:** **Thanks for reading. Make sure to Review to tell me what you think. & What do you think Joey is going to say to her? ;) **


	6. Feelings

**A/N: ****Hey Guys thanks for the reviews on the last chapter, it means so much. So yeah I kept my promise and I'm updating again, and only 2 days since I last updated. LOL it must be a record for me. A new chapter should be up on Thursday/Friday, anyway l hope you enjoy this chapter. :) **

**The Moment I knew**

Chapter 6: Feelings.

"Lets go outside, we can talk more openly out there, someone might come in here and interrupt us." Joey suggested as he walked towards the back door (the door that was most commonly used in the Beale house).

"Okay." Lauren replied agreeing with him as she followed him outside.

They were both stood outside of Lucy's house in the cold winters night, they were stood by the gate that lead out onto the market, they were both nervous about the conversation that was about to take place.

"Let's talk." Lauren said for the second time that night. She wanted to get it over with; it was hard for her to lie to him; to lie to Joey.

"I care about you Lauren, Okay? I care about you. That kiss the other night, well I can't get it out of my head alright it's all I've been thinking about. You are all I've been thinking about." Joey said tenderly.

Lauren looked at him speechless she swallowed nervously, and wobbled slightly on the spot where she was stood, due to the vodka she had just been drinking earlier on in the night. _**He felt the same way.**_ She thought to herself.

"That kiss didn't mean anything." Lauren whispered looking down at the floor, not wanting to meet his eye; she didn't know if she could carry on lying to him for much longer.

"Stop lying to me, and stop lying to yourself. You know that kiss meant something; you have feelings for me. I know you do. I know you Lauren, me and you are so alike." Joey whispered to her as he stoked her cheek, causing her to sober up. She looked up at him; looked him in the eye. She blushed slightly at the feel of his fingers on her smooth cheek.

"This is so wrong." Lauren whispered watching his reaction closely. Joey stopped stroking her cheek, but still stood extremely close to her.

"No it's not. It feels right, I feel right when I am with you."

Lauren looked at him he was being sincere, he was looking at her with so much emotion in his brown eyes_**; so much love. **_

"But we are cousins Joey." Lauren whispered hoarsely, as tears were starting to form in her big brown eyes.

"I don't care." Joey replied immediately.

"But this would break up our family." Lauren said with a stray tear trickling down her flawless cheek.

"Hey don't cry." Joey whispered tenderly as he wiped the tear from her cheek.

"This is such a mess Joey, we are such a mess." Lauren cried as more tears fell down her cheeks. Joey pulled her close to him, and warped her into a loving hug. Lauren clutched on to him, pulling him closer to her so she could inhale his unique masculine smell; his heavenly scent. She rested her cheek on his strong torso wanting to feel as close to him as she could. He was stroking her back in soft circular motions, trying to clam her down.

"No, this is simple." Joey said calmly as he continued to stoke her back lovingly.

Lauren looked up to him with confusion present in her eyes "How is it?" she asked him confused, as their situation was anything but simple.

"I love you." He said smiling at her confidently.

"You what?" Lauren asked shocked, _**she must not have heard him right, **_she thought to herself.

"I love you Lauren, I'm in love with you." He whispered and stroked her cheek softly.

Lauren looked at him speechless, she could see that he was telling the truth, she could see the emotion present in his brown orbs; _**the love.**_

"You love me?" she asked softly, still shocked; shocked that he felt the _**same way.**_

"I've never loved anyone else before, this is all new to me. But of course I love you Lauren. You are the first person I've ever fallen in love with, the first girl that I have ever cared about." Joey rambled taking his hand away from her cheek and started stroking the back of his neck nervously.

"What about Lucy?" Lauren asked referring to her best friend who Joey was seeing.

"I don't care about her, I never did." Joey admitted feeling slightly bad for the way he had treated Lucy Beale.

"I-I-I…." Stuttered Lauren just before someone interrupted them.

"What's going on out here?" asked a curious Fatboy who started walking over to them.

"Nothing," Lauren said quickly, as she backed away from Joey.

"It doesn't look like nothing, c'mon you can tell me you know Fats won't tell anyone." Fatboy joked elbowing Lauren slightly.

"It's nothing Fats." Joey said annoyed that Fatboy had ruined his and Lauren's moment.

"Ohhhhhh…. I get it. It's a family thing. Don't worry about that stuff; now come back to the party. We miss our favorite party girl." Fatboy laughed elbowing Lauren again.

Lauren sighed she was just about to tell Joey how she felt; that she _**loved him.**_

"Alright, we're coming in now." Lauren said smiling at Fatboy.

"C'mon then." Fatboy laughed as he walked back inside the house.

"I'm sorry, can we talk about this later?" Lauren asked Joey as they walked back into the warm house.

"Yeah. That's fine." Joey replied smiling at her.

"Where did you two sneak off to?" Whitney shouted over the loud music as both Joey and Lauren came back into the living room in the Beale's house.

"Family stuff." Lauren shouted back. Whitney pulled a face as if to say, "boring"; Lauren smiled at her as she walked closer to her best friend.

"Want a drink?" Whitney asked waving a half full vodka bottle in Lauren's face.

"Yeah sure." Lauren replied smirking as she took the vodka bottle out of Whitney's hands. She took a quick swig; she didn't want to drink much more seeing as she was going to be talking to Joey later on.

"Let's dance." Whitney shrieked as a Calvin Harris song started to play.

Lauren laughed and started dancing with Whitney, she was having so much fun.

Ten minutes later she was a bit tired from the dancing so she walked over to Poppy.

"Hey Poppy." She said smiling at her.

"Hey Lauren, you ok? I haven't seen you in a while." Poppy replied hugging Lauren slightly.

"Yeah I've been good. So when are you and Fats gonna get together then?" Lauren asked playfully nudging her.

"What do you mean?" Poppy asked confused.

"Never mind." Lauren laughed to her oblivious friend. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a sight that made her feel sick to her stomach; stood in the opposite corner was Lucy and Joey; they were kissing.

_**He just told me he loved me. **_She whispered to herself. Lauren felt humiliated, he had lied, he had just been leading her on. _**He probably only wanted one thing; to sleep with me. He probably gave that whole I'm in love with you to every girl he tried to sleep with. Well I'm not that stupid.**_ She thought to herself.

"Get me drunk please Poppy." Lauren said with determination, however on the inside her heart was breaking. She felt used.

"You sure that's a good idea?" Poppy asked her friend concerned.

"So you're saying I can't have a drink now? What you trying to say Poppy?" Lauren shouted at her friend aggressively, just as she started shouting the music went off signifying it had come to the end of the playlist, everyone turned to look at Lauren and Poppy.

Poppy looked at her slightly scared, "What's going?" asked a concerned Whitney walking over to the scene that was unfolding between the two girls.

"Apparently I'm not allowed a drink." Lauren shouted pointing in Poppy's direction.

"Calm down Lauren." Lucy said walking over to her. Lauren felt her anger start to boil as her best friend made her way over to her. She had to get out of there, otherwise she was going to slap Lucy.

"Don't tell me what to do." Lauren hissed at her best friend.

"What is your problem?" Lucy asked totally confused at her best friend's behavior.

"YOU ARE. YOU ALL ARE." Lauren shouted at everyone in the room, her eyes locked with Joey's who was still stood in the opposite corner of the room, he was looking at her guiltily.

"I can't do this." She muttered to herself before fleeing out of the room, and out of the house.

It was ten minutes later Lauren was sat on a bench in the gardens; tears were falling down her cheeks. _**How could she be so stupid?**_ She cried to herself. _**How could she believe him?**_

"Lauren there you are." She heard a panting Joey say from in front of her. She looked up to see him stood there, looking out of breath showing he had been running everywhere in search of her.

"Don't even look at me you lying, worthless, manipulative, pig." She screeched at him standing up and glaring at him.

"YOU LIAR!" she screamed at him with so much fury.

"I never lied to you Lauren. I do love you." Joey tried to reason with her.

"LIAR!" Lauren screamed in his face and started punching his chest forcefully.

"I LOVE YOU!" Joey shouted back at her.

"LIAR!" Lauren sobbed tears escaping as she continued to punch his muscular chest.

"I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU!" He shouted holding on to her fists to stop her from punching him.

"You kissed her, you kissed Lucy." Lauren sobbed uncontrollably.

"It didn't mean anything, she kissed me Lauren. I'm going to break up with her I am." He explained stroking her hair softly.

"I was going to tell you I feel the same way; I was going to tell you that I love you too." Lauren sobbed into his chest. "But then I saw you kissing her, and it felt like my heart had be ripped out."

"You feel the same way?" Joey whispered.

"Yeah I do, well I did before I had to witness that." Lauren sniffled wiping her eyes.

"I'm so sorry Lauren, Lucy started kissing me, and I didn't know if you loved me or not. I didn't know where we stood. So I let her kiss me, I didn't realize you were watching, I thought you were still dancing with Whit." Joey tried to explain, but Lauren was having none of it.

"You're blaming this on me? That it's my fault I saw you kissing her?" Lauren asked him incredulously.

"No of course not, I was scared Lauren okay? I might act all cocky and confident but I'm scared, you scare me." Joey explained whilst rubbing his forehead slightly, he could feel the beginnings of a headache forming.

"I scare you? Well thanks." Lauren hissed at him.

"No, the way you make me feel scares me Lauren. It scares me, because I don't want to hurt you. But I just did, and I'm sorry. If you want me to break things off with Lucy, then I will. So do you?" Joey asked her, he still couldn't believe that she felt the _**same way. She loved him.**_

"I-I –I" Stuttered a confused Lauren, it wasn't like they could be in a normal relationship, they were cousins after all.

**A/N:**** Thanks for reading, let me know what you think by reviewing. And what do you think Lauren should say?**


	7. Pain

**A/N:**** Well what can I say? Apart from I am so sorry that I have been a terrible writer, and sorry that I haven't updated this story since December. WTH! I can't believe it's been seven months. All I can say is that I am so sorry, I have been tied down with school work, and also had to deal with ongoing family issues. But now I have left school, and it is the summer holidays I am going to be updating this story regularly again; that's if I even have any readers left. Anyway the story continues where it left off, so the story takes place back in November, and it isn't following any of the story lines that have been on TV. Anyway enjoy this chapter.**

**The Moment I knew**

Chapter 7: Pain.

_"I-I –I" Stuttered a confused Lauren, it wasn't like they could be in a normal relationship, they were cousins after all._

"I- I don't want you to break up with Lucy, what kind of best friend would I be to her if I asked you to do that?" Lauren asked stuttering as tears gently rolled down her flawless face, she wiped them away with the sleeve of her black leather jacket.

"Lucy is irrelevant Lauren, It is you who I'm in love with." Joey said as if everything was simple and not complicated at all; as if they weren't related, as if they weren't _**cousins.**_

"How can you say that Joey? Of course she is relevant, but that isn't the issue here, and you know that." Lauren replied shaking her head at him slightly, as she tried to wipe away the tears from her face; not caring about her eye makeup that was sure to be smeared everywhere_**; making her look like a raccoon. **_

"Not this again Lauren." Joey said getting slightly irritated with her as he sat next to her on the bench where she was sat in the square.

"We are related, we are family. We can't ignore the fact Joey, even though I want to so badly." Lauren whispered looking down at the paved ground; with tears streaming down her face; she had given up on trying to wipe them away.

"Who cares? I don't Lauren, I don't care what people will think, we can get through this, we will be together, and we will be strong." Joey said gently as he placed his hand under her chin and made her look up him. _**Their eyes locked.**_

"It's not that easy, you say all this now. But it's just talk, it was only half an hour ago that you told me you loved me, and then five minutes later you were kissing Lucy. You are all talk Joey, you are confused and I get that. I'm confused too, this is going by all to fast, yeah you may think you love me; but it might just be lust. You'll have forgotten about me next week." Lauren said looking into his brown eyes, she could see tears forming in them which hurt her, because she knew she was hurting him, _**causing him pain.**_

"It's not talk Lauren, we are going round in circles here. I've told you how I feel okay? And you told me that you were going to tell me that you loved me too, before I kissed Lucy. So you can't deny this Lauren, you can't deny us. I know this is happening quickly, and that scares the shit out of me too. But you know what Lauren? It excites me too, because for once in my life I actually feel as if I can be my true self around someone, and I don't have to hide any part of myself; because that's what you do Lauren. You make me feel alive; you make me feel scared, you make me feel excited and most of all you make me feel as if I would to anything for you. Because I love you Lauren, I'm in love with you. I don't know how many times I have to tell you that, I don't know what else I can say to make you believe me. Because I truly do love you, and all I can do now is wait for you to come to terms with how you truly feel. I'll be waiting as long as it takes." Said Joey as a tear escaped his right eye; he had just confessed his feelings to the girl he was in love with; _**his cousin. **_Lauren looked at him and stroked his cheek gently as more tears escaped her eyes. _**She knew he was telling the truth, she could see it in his eyes.**_

"I- I – I don't know what to say." She stuttered, still stroking his cheek softly. Joey placed his hand on her hand that was on his cheek and brought it too his lips and kissed it lovingly.

"Just tell me how you truly feel." He whispered squeezing her hand as he kept hold of it.

Lauren gulped before confessing her feelings. "I- I- I do love you Joey, I'm in love with you too." Joey lent in towards her, his lips capturing hers; kissing her softly, with so much feeling; with so much love; Lauren pulled away after ten seconds, she was crying hysterically now. "But this, we can't happen." She sobbed gesturing between the both of them; she stood up off the bench, which they were both sat on.

"No, Lauren please don't do this. I told you I would break up with Lucy." Joey pleaded standing up next to her; his voice was hoarse as a lump formed in the back of his throat. _**He knew deep down; he was losing her.**_

"I-I-I-I'm sorry. I-I-I'm so sorry." She cried before turning away from him she started to stumble in the direction of her house.

"Don't do this Lauren, give us a chance please." Joey begged, as he followed her, not caring who would see them.

Lauren looked round at him as she sobbed "No. Not now, I need to sort myself out. This isn't our time Joey, It will hurt so many people; we will hurt so many people. In the future if we are meant to be together then we will, we will be together. But if not, then we'll know we never were meant to be."

"How can you say that? You haven't even given us a chance? Why are you giving up so easily? Joey asked looking at her with so much hurt and love in his brown orbs.

"Because, I am not ready to jump yet. I'm not ready to let someone in okay? I'm not ready to let you in." Lauren cried wobbling slightly; due to the alcohol she had consumed earlier.

"I'll be everywhere you go, you won't be able to ignore me Lauren. You'll be in bed and you'll be thinking of me, you'll be longing for me. Because nobody makes you feel the way I do, no one loves you the way I do." Joey whispered stepping towards her with tears in his eyes.

"Good night Joey. Go back to Lucy." Lauren croaked trying to stop herself form loosing it completely, she kissed his cheek softly and smiled at him sadly with tears falling slowly down her face.

"Night Lauren." Joey whispered hoarsely, smiling back at her with the same sad smile she gave him, shaking his head slightly at her last words to him.

Lauren walked away from him slowly. Trying to walk steadily; but it wasn't so easy in her intoxicated state and with the heels she had on her feet. She let the tears fall freely, as she walked home in the cold November night. _**She was in pain, so much emotional pain**__. **She felt broken.**_

Joey was rooted in the spot where he was stood in the square, the tears were falling down his cheeks, and he let them fall not even caring. He knew him and Lauren had only kissed a couple of times, and weren't in a relationship, that they hadn't even had sex, but he knew he loved her; was in love with her. He was hurt; she had given up on them before they even had a real chance. _**He was in pain, so much emotional pain. But he knew he would never give up on them, give up on her. He knew they would be together someday; he knew it.**_

**A/N: ****Please Review and let me know what you think. :)**


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